PDHPE teachers have a lot going on. You’re not only teaching health content and supporting students’ wellbeing but also guiding them through some of the most complex and sensitive issues in the curriculum, like bullying, online safety, respectful relationships and mental health. It’s a huge responsibility, and we know how challenging it can be to deliver these topics.
At Brainstorm Productions, we support educators by bringing professional young actors into schools to deliver live theatre performances that spark curiosity, inspire students and open the door to deeper conversations. As a clinical psychologist working behind the scenes, I’ve seen first-hand how live theatre can cut through and connect with students in powerful, creative ways.
Brainstorm is one of Australia’s most trusted educational theatre companies, with over 40 years’ experience in schools. Each year we reach over 260,000 students across New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Each performance explores themes of bullying, online safety and wellbeing, followed by a facilitated discussion. To make your job easier, we also provide curriculum-aligned classroom resources so the learning can continue after the show.
Theatre in education is grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986), which tells us that young people learn by observing others. Live theatre gives students the chance to watch positive and negative behaviours play out in real time and reflect on the choices characters make.
Recent research has shown that live educational theatre is an effective method for delivering content across the curriculum, in areas such as science, history and health (Bush et al., 2018; Kisida et al., 2020; Stagg & Verde, 2019). Theatre may also improve bullying knowledge and self-efficacy (Goodwin et al., 2019; Mitchell, 2020; Shiakou & Piki, 2020), increase help-seeking intentions (Searle, 2017) and reduce bullying (Agley et al., 2021). A post-performance discussion is also an effective way to enhance the social and emotional benefits of educational theatre (Troxler et al., 2023).
As a clinical psychologist, it’s my job to make sure every performance is not just engaging but also grounded in research and theory. Our company is endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider, and our program is listed on the Victorian Schools Mental Health Menu and the ACER Wellbeing Programs Guide. We also collaborate with other providers to ensure our program complements the initiatives already in place in your school.
Storytelling is one of the oldest and most effective teaching tools we have. Research shows that stories help us process complex information, change attitudes and influence behaviour (Cunningham & Boom, 2013; Glaser, Garsoffky & Schwan, 2009). Recent Australian research also suggests that storytelling is an engaging and effective way to deliver resilience content in the classroom (Tillet et al., 2021). When students see characters facing challenges that mirror their own world, the content is more likely to stick.
As educators, you know the best learning happens when students are emotionally engaged. Being emotionally ‘moved’ by a story supports attention, recall and long-term retention (Tyng et al., 2017). Theatre creates a unique kind of emotional engagement, one that draws students in while allowing them to remain at a safe distance. They can watch characters make mistakes, deal with the consequences and grow, without feeling exposed themselves. The most effective stories elicit a mix of emotions and leave students feeling motivated, hopeful and inspired.
You don’t have to be a drama teacher to bring some extra creativity into your lessons. Arts-based strategies can help break the ice, create a safe space for discussion and bring tricky topics to life. Here are some simple ideas you can try:
Drama games are a fun way to warm up at the start of a lesson and prepare students to explore sensitive topics. Games like Acceptance Circle can be used with primary or secondary students to develop listening and group cohesion by having students copy each other’s actions and sounds in sequence. Zip Zap Zop and Bippity Bop boost energy and concentration, while statue games encourage teamwork and creativity. For example, students can use their bodies to form an animal, object or scene for the class to guess, or they can work in pairs with one as the “sculptor” and the other as the “statue.”
Movement games can also build body awareness. For example, ask younger primary students to walk around the room and then transform into an animal, but without crawling on the floor or making sounds. This encourages them to focus on the more subtle movements and characteristics of the animal and can be used as a warm-up for lessons about emotions, empathy and non-verbal communication.
Drama Trunk is a great resource for Australian teachers, offering lots of free, no-prep drama games for all year levels: dramatrunk.com.
Stories from books, plays, films, TV shows or even popular video games can be used as a springboard for discussion. Where possible, try to use quality Australian content that is designed for children and young people, with resilience and learning in mind. Some TV programs that may be useful for primary students include Little J & Big Cuz, Bluey, Kangaroo Beach, Little Lunch and Dance Academy. A recent Australian study (Bohl, Smith & Bolling, 2025) found that Bluey consistently portrays resilience messages aligned with Grotberg’s Resilience Framework (1995), with the lead character modelling key attributes such as emotional regulation, persistence and problem-solving.
You could ask students:
As highlighted in the curriculum, stories are a great way to explore how people overcome adversity, drawing on their unique strengths and resilience factors while building new skills and insights along the way.
Forum Theatre is an interactive technique developed by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. In Forum Theatre, a short play is performed that usually shows a social problem or conflict, such as bullying, peer pressure or discrimination, without a clear solution. After the first performance, the play is repeated, but this time audience members are invited to step in, take the place of a character and try out different strategies to change the outcome.
This approach can be adapted for a high school PDHPE lesson using a short scene from an existing text or by asking students to write their own. For example, in one of our high school lesson plans, we provide a short excerpt from our show Verbal Combat, in which a student is being bullied in the presence of bystanders. Students perform the scene twice, with the audience stepping in the second time to experiment with alternative outcomes.
Music is a brilliant way to make wellbeing content memorable. Primary students could:
Arts-based learning engages students and creates classroom experiences that not only tick the curriculum boxes but also energise and inspire.
If you’re looking for more ways to spark meaningful conversations in your PDHPE lessons, visit our website: brainstormproductions.edu.au. Our performances provide a rich stimulus for learning that can target a wide range of outcomes, especially when followed by the curriculum-aligned lesson plans.
Here’s how teachers have described the impact in their classrooms:
“A captivating educational experience that brilliantly intertwined entertainment with education. The production seamlessly integrated key learning areas, making it an invaluable complement to our students’ educational journey. Students were able to connect classroom learning with real-world applications, enhancing their comprehension and retention of the material.
The play also aligned perfectly with our PDHPE curriculum and ‘No Bullying’ Policy. It addressed important topics such as health, wellbeing and personal safety, offering students practical insights into these vital areas.
The storyline emphasised the importance of respect, kindness and inclusivity, delivering a powerful message that resonated with our students.The play served as a timely reminder of the values we strive to instil in our school community. A dynamic educational tool that enriched our students’ learning experience across multiple disciplines.”
– Mrs Alassadi, Arrahman College“Absolutely fantastic. Basically covered the Year 7–9 Health Curriculum in 50 minutes! If you could organise a drama that does the same for Maths, that would be awesome!!”
– Phil, Aquinas College Ringwood
Dr Ameika Johnson is a registered clinical psychologist with a Doctor of Clinical Psychology/Master of Science from the University of Sydney. She has a special interest in child and adolescent wellbeing, and has worked with children, young people and families in both clinical and research settings, including projects with the Black Dog Institute, Karitane Toddler Clinic, UNSW and the University of Melbourne. Ameika has published in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored children’s books, including the best-selling HUMAN KIND series and I Feel the World. As a full-time member of Brainstorm Productions, Ameika contributes her expertise to program development, training, evaluation and online resources. She is passionate about supporting teachers and students by bringing creative, evidence-based wellbeing strategies into schools.
References:
Agley, J. et al. (2021). Effects of ACT Out! Social Issue Theater on social-emotional competence and bullying in youth and adolescents: Cluster randomized controlled trial, JMIR Mental Health, 8(1): doi: 10.2196/25860
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought & action. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Bohl, K. A., Smith, B. P., & Bolling, M. T. (2025). “Oh, Biscuits!” Exploring resilience in the children’s television programme Bluey. Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 42(2), 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2025.2526340
Bush, R., Capra, S., Box, S., McCallum, D., Khalil, S., & Ostini, R. (2018). An integrated theatre production for a school nutrition promotion program. Children, 5(3), 35: https://doi.org/10.3390/children5030035.
Cunningham, R. M., & Boom, J. A. (2013). Telling stories of vaccine-preventable diseases: why it works. South Dakota Medicine: The Journal of the South Dakota State Medical Association, Spec no, 21–26.
Glaser, M., Garsoffky, B. & Schwan, S. (2009). Narrative-based learning: Possible benefits and problems. Communications, 34(4), 429-447. https://doi.org/10.1515/COMM.2009.026
Goodwin, J., Bradley, S.K., Donohoe, P., Queen, K., O’Shea, M. & Horgan, A. (2019). Bullying in schools: An evaluation of the use of drama in bullying prevention. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 14(3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2019.1623147.
Grotberg, E. H. (1995). A guide to promoting resilience in children: Strengthening the human spirit. https://www.bibalex.org/Search4Dev/files/283337/115519.pdf
Kisida, B., Goodwin, L., & Bowen, D. H. (2020). Teaching history through theater: The effects of arts integration on students’ knowledge and attitudes. AERA Open, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420902712
Mitchell, A. (2020). Young people’s experiences of an anti-bullying Drama in Education workshop six months’ post-participation. British Journal of Child Health, 1(2), 72-79. https://doi.org/10.12968/chhe.2020.1.2.72.
Shiakou, M. & Piki, L. (2020) Assessing the role of drama on children’s understanding of bullying. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 8(1), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2018.1499574.
Stagg, B.C. & Verde, M.F. (2019) Story of a Seed: educational theatre improves students’ comprehension of plant reproduction and attitudes to plants in primary science education. Research in Science & Technological Education, 37(1), 15-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2018.1455655.
Tillott, S., Weatherby-Fell, N., Pearson, P., & Neumann, M. (2021). Using storytelling to unpack resilience theory in accordance with an internationally recognised resilience framework with primary school children. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools. 32. 1-12. 10.1017/jgc.2021.5.
Tyng, C.M., Amin, H.U., Saad, M.N.M., & Malik, A.S. (2017). The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1454. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01454
Troxler, R., Goldstein,T., Holochwost, S., Beekman, C., McKeel, S., & Shami, M. (2023). Deeper engagement with live theater increases middle school students’ empathy and social perspective taking. Applied Developmental Science, 27(4), 352-372, DOI:10.1080/10888691.2022.2096610
